Songtradr hints at Bandcamp layoffs after recent acquisitionSongtradr has released a statement addressing the potential layoffs that may follow its acquisition of music marketplace Bandcamp.

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In response to a press release from Bandcamp’s union, Bandcamp United, the statement clarifies that Songtradr “does not own or control Bandcamp yet”, and that the acquisition will be finalised in the coming weeks.
As for current workers at the company, Songtradr states: “Not all Bandcamp employees will receive offers from Songtradr. Based on its current financials, Bandcamp requires some adjustments to ensure a sustainable and healthy company that can serve its community of artists and fans long into the future.”
“Those that don’t receive offers within the next few weeks will receive severance from Epic as part of their layoffs as communicated on September 28th.”
“We will work towards a fair and equitable outcome for the global members of the Bandcamp team. Songtradr is planning to keep all the existing Bandcamp services that fans and artists love, including Bandcamp Fridays, Bandcamp Daily and its artist-first revenue share.”
Songytradr’s acquisition of Bandcamp comes less than 18 months after Epic Games – the video game giant behind Fortnite – bought the company for an undisclosed sum.
In March, a number of Bandcamp staff, under the name of Bandcamp United, unionised in a push for fairer wages and greater transparency from its leadership.
Workers described the move as “critical to our ability to do our best work and make good on the promise and mission of Bandcamp to provide fair economic conditions, direct support, and transparency for ourselves and all of our users”.
Bandcamp’s CEO Ethan Diamond later responded, saying, “following the NLRB’s process and timeline. Bandcamp will respect the election outcome and if a union forms, we will negotiate in good faith.”

We are calling on @songtradr to meet our demands so that we can continue to do our work and preserve Bandcamp’s mission:
* Employment offers for ALL workers* Voluntary severance offers* Immediate union recognition & continuation of bargaining
https://t.co/JetUB1PN1d pic.twitter.com/9wWw2o6VPc
— Bandcamp United (@bandcampunited) October 4, 2023

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“It was the most fun I’ve ever had in the studio”: Tobtok teams up with farfetch’d for a friend-centred EPAlthough it’s a small affair with friends, Swedish producers, Tobtok and duo farfetch’d are equally nervous as they are excited to launch their new EP, My Friends at Reason Studios HQ in Stockholm.

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When MusicTech is buzzed up to the office in the Hornstull area of Stockholm, where the party is set to take place, the three are carrying crates of beer down a corridor, helping to set up lighting and making last-minute additions to the growing list of attendees.

“We did the whole EP in Reason,” Tobtok, who’s used the software since 2009, tells us as we sit down on office chairs. “So, that’s the… reason… why we’re doing it here!” Another reason, Tobtok tells us, is because of the software’s colourful, visual interface. This is far more inspiring than Ableton Live’s grey, parameter-focused design, and adds a “feeling of satisfaction”.
They started the My Friends EP in FL Studio, however, Jerry from farfetch’d tells us, then took it to Toby’s – Tobtok – studio to finish it. They were inspired by the sound they achieved with their first collaboration, Seen, which led to the decision to push and make more music in a more liberal way.
Its opening track, I Like When You, is a jungle-inspired rave number that started out at a faster tempo, eventually being slowed down. This style is new territory for both Tobtok and farfetch’d, as they’ve mostly dabbled in French house flavours previously. They tell us how they started with an irregular kickdrum pattern usually used in jungle tracks, then “painted around” the pattern with breaks, samples and synths. They couldn’t help but slap a 4×4 kickdrum pattern on it, though, to bring things back to their roots
Jerry embraces Tobtok with Johnny in the foreground
An important part of the My Friends EP was to make music without any commercial pressure, they say. “We’ve been producing for so long and are so damaged by arrangements and sounds and ‘you need to do this’. But I think we felt a spark that we hadn’t felt in years,” says Jerry.
“We decided that we were not going to follow any rules. Throughout the years, we have been trying to make things commercially radio-friendly. And those records have a certain formula. We were both in a position where we felt like we’d lost a spark. So, we wanted to just go in the studio and have fun and not worry about something being a commercial success or anything.
“That’s how we started,” says Tobtok. “When I started, I was just a kid having fun in Reason, you know, in front of my computer. The way I made music back then was by just having fun. I didn’t even think about formulas or anything like that. This was about going back to the feelings we had when we made music when we were 18. It was the most fun I’ve ever had in the studio.”
Evidently, this was a special collaborative moment for the duo and Tobtok, as they rediscovered a sense of freedom away from commercial demands. It also sparked a heartwarming appreciation of friendship. As we talk, friends and fans are drifting into the office, quickly greeted by either a hug or a sincere handshake from the trio, before being shown towards the dancefloor.

We all step out of the desk space, walk through the office and on to the dancefloor, where the launch party is taking place. It’s not a dancefloor usually, of course, with a kitchen in one corner, sofas pushed to the sides and a stage set up in the corner. As a disco ball spins, the producer’s friends hop on the decks to warm up and Tobtok and farfetch’d get to work serving drinks. Even Reason’s CEO, Niklas Agevik, is decanting bags of crisps into bowls and asking what people want to drink.
For Tobtok and farfetch’d, who step up for a fun back-to-back DJ set to the encouraging cheers of their friends, the My Friends EP was perhaps a pivotal moment for all three. No more constraints in the studio; just find that feeling of fun again with friends.
The My Friends EP by Tobtok and farfetch’d is out now via Perfect Havoc. Buy it at Beatport. You can also read our interview with Reason’s CEO, Niklas Agevik, at MusicTech.
The post “It was the most fun I’ve ever had in the studio”: Tobtok teams up with farfetch’d for a friend-centred EP appeared first on MusicTech.

1010music announce nanobox | tangerine The nanobox | tangerine draws its inspiration from the early days of sampling, and aims to offer interesting new ways of generating sounds in desktop or portable rigs.

Silen Audio Infinite Flow THE TIMELESS SOUND OF CLASSIC SYNTHESIZERS. Infinite Flow uses models of vintage polyphonic synthesizers to unlock subtle warmth and depth for your synthesizer sounds. ... Read More

US lawmakers urge IRS to implement crypto tax reporting requirements before 2026The crypto tax reporting requirements proposed by the IRS in August are currently scheduled to go into effect in 2026 — according to 7 senators, that isn't soon enough.

HiFi acquired by TIDAL parent BlockBesides TIDAL, and now HiFi, Block also owns Cash App, a person-to-person payments app, the buy-now-pay-later platform Afterpay and web hosting service Weebly.
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Universal Music Group’s share price just hit a 12-month high, as company’s market cap climbs to $49 billionNews comes after a number of prominent Wall Street analysts maintained a 'Buy' rating on UMG's stock
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VG Trumpet VG Flugelhorn SFZ YouTube/5i9qsEJuFBM The library includes three sets of samples: 1. Subtone sound 2. Soul sound 3. Jazz sound: Set up to work with breath controllers (TEControl, MRT Audio,... Read More

Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison explains how FTX hid losses, sandbagged lenders“We were in a bad situation,” Ellison said.

Taylor Swift, Nikki Sixx, Dave Matthews, Rick Allen Donate to Raven Drum Foundation AuctionFor the third year in a row, Raven Drum Foundation (RDF) brings together an all-star group of musicians to raise funds for Veterans, first responders, and others dealing with trauma. In addition to RDF co-founder Rick Allen (legendary drummer of Def Leppard), celebrities who have contributed items include Taylor Swift, Nikki Sixx & Tommy Lee (Motley Crue), Todd Sucherman and Styx, Matt Sorum (Guns N’ Roses, The Cult, Velvet Revolver), Fred Armisen, and many more. Through a partnership with Musicians on Call, a Dave Matthews guitar featuring his one-of-kind hand-drawn artwork will be offered to help fund an ongoing partnership with Raven Drum to bring live music to bedsides in VA hospitals around the country.

Founded in 2001 by Allen and his wife, singer-songwriter and healing arts practitioner Lauren Monroe, Raven Drum Foundation serves, educates, and empowers trauma survivors and communities in crisis, with a focus on Veterans and First Responders. By integrating advocacy, storytelling, music, and arts programs and events, the organization brings the tools and experiences of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to support and inspire mental health, resiliency, and unity.

“I recently had the chance to attend a Raven Drum Foundation event and was really impacted by the healing effect the drum circle and joining together in a shared rhythm with a community of people had on me. I’m happy to support Raven Drum’s mission by donating one of my signature bass guitars, along with a few other items, including a scarf worn on stage with Mötley Crüe, some signed books, and my custom picks.” - Nikki Sixx (Mötley Crüe)

More info and bid on the items here: e.givesmart.com/events/yuD/i/_All/#itemnTeq

Synthesizer Evolution zines by Oli Freke Oli Freke has produced two new pocket-sized A6 zines based on his 2021 book, Synthesizer Evolution: From Analogue to Digital (and Back).

How Lawrence Got Live Nation To End Merch FeesThis week, Ari is joined by Clyde Lawrence, Gracie Lawrence, and Jordan Cohen from the band, Lawrence.

AI-powered loop stacking tool Splice Create has been revampedCloud-based sample library platform Splice has launched a new version of Splice Create, an AI-powered tool that generates arrangements using loops and sounds from its library.

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With Splice Create, the company aims to simplify the creative music-making process by offering ideas that can kickstart projects quickly. It shifts the focus from sample searching to creative flow and inspiration, drawing from Splice’s vast library of over 300 instruments and 130 music genres.
It works by letting you build ‘Stacks’ of loops to see which combinations might work together. You simply drop in loops and can swap them out in exchange for others.
While this feature is not wholly new to Splice (the initial version let you create sound combinations based on genre-based seeds), this updated version lets users create Stacks from any available loop. This version is more flexible as the BPM of a loop will instantly quantise to your chosen tempo, and you can create stacks by combining sounds related to a variety of genres, and shuffle sound layers, reducing the need for manual loop searches and increasing user control.

“We invited artists and creators deep into our development process to build Create, and they’ve been clear, they wanted this experience integrated across core workflows,” says Splice CEO, Kakul Srivastava. “The result is a new entry point into the world of Splice sounds, where any loop can be the start of a new creative journey. And we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible.”
In July, Srivastava appeared on the Music Ally Focus podcast to talk about how the technique of sampling has changed music production. She says, “It’s just how people create now. It’s become mainstream and it’s definitely gone past those initial genres to every genre. If you look at someone like Taylor Swift and folk music or Americana or country and the use of samples in all of these things that were not traditionally sample-based music genres.
“It’s part of how music is done and we don’t see that slowing down. In fact, we see it accelerating. For that same reason it was used in hip-hop, it just makes music creation that much more fun – that much more accessible.”
Find out more at Splice.
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Find your spark in seconds: Now you can create Stacks with Splice loops while you browse the catalog
Splice subscribers can now create a Stack from any loop, while browsing the catalog—turn a spark of inspiration into a musical idea in seconds.

1010music launches the nanobox | tangerine for “extreme sampling” in a product the size of “a juicebox”1010music has launched a new, ultra-compact sampler – the nanobox | tangerine – which allows for “extreme sampling” from a product which the brand compares to the size of a juicebox.
This small, orange wonder launched just yesterday on 10 October, to celebrate 10/10 day (a nod to the brand name), and it ships in November this year.

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1010music is already known for its range of samplers, including bitbox, blackbox, and nanobox | razzamatazz. But the nanobox | tangerine is described as an “übersampler” which can handle complex, dense, multi-sampled sound sets.
Users just need to plug in a sound source and hit record. A Multi-sample Wizard lets you easily sample other synths and drum machines, and you can also import banks of instrument sounds complete with keyboard splits and sample layers.
The aim of nanobox | tangerine is to offer an easy and fun way to sample like days gone by, but with today’s sound quality, processing and storage all in a pocket-sized format.
Check out more in the video below:

Other features include:

24 voice polyphony
16 velocity layers
576 simultaneous streaming samples via microSD
Multi-sample and melodic playback via touchscreen, internal sequencer or MIDI
1.7GB piano from makers of well-known, industry-standard piano libraries
4GB of versatile one shot samples, loops, sampled instruments and sound effects
Automatic sample slicer with editing with synced clips/loops
Sequencer with realtime recording and input quantization
Reverb and delay effects
Eight touchscreen sample pads
Colour coordinated USB cable
One stereo audio input and output

Back in August, we listed the nanobox | lemondrop in our roundup of the best synths under £600 to buy in 2023. The compact polyphonic granular synthesiser offers touch-based control, and has four-voice polyphony, dual granulators, and an oscillator.
The nanobox | tangerine is listed at $399 USD, and is available from November.
Find out more via 1010music.
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